Mystery over Ruth Rendell’s Tory tryst

The search is on to find out the identity of the British politician with whom Ruth Rendell, 78, had a secret affair - a fact she let slip in an interview with the Independent on Sunday to promote her latest Barbara Vine novel (the pseudonym she uses for her more high-brow thrillers), The Birthday Present.

Rendell, or Baroness Rendell of Babergh as she is known in the House of Lords, let slip about her tryst while discussing the book, which deals with a libidinous Tory MP. Asked by the journalist if she'd ever had a  relationship with a politician, she said: "No" before revealing: "Oh, well... I suppose I sort of have. Mmm... yes!"

Clearly regretting the confession, she rallied: "No. Oh no, no. Yeah, but I'm not going to say any more about it." However, she did a drop a clue. She said he was a "a very small politician... in stature, of place in the world and position."

Rendell, who has become a multi-millionaire from her books, which include the Inspector Wexford series, also revealed that she had had two proposals of marriage since becoming a widow nine years ago, both in 2005, but she accepted neither and was similarly tight-lipped about her suitors' identities. ·